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NATCHITOCHES, La. – Junior
Ean McNeal (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits with no walks to help Chicago State baseball defeat McNeese State 6-3 on Sunday (March 9) in a neutral site game played on the campus of Northwestern State.
McNeal's first complete game of the season came on just 97 pitches. McNeal faced the minimum in the first inning and by the time he took the mound in the second inning, the Cougars had six runs on the board.
Chicago State recorded five hits, two hit by pitches and a walk in the first inning. Each of the Cougars' first six batters scored. Freshman
Sanford Hunt (Chicago, Ill./Kenwood) had a two RBI double in the inning. Freshman
Stefan Panayiotou (Hillsboro, Ore./Hillsboro) followed with a walk. McNeese State then removed starter Bryce Kingsley, a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American last year, before he could retire a single batter.
"Today was a good answer from last night's game," Chicago State head coach
Steve Joslyn said. "All nine guys had quality at bats in the first inning. It was good to see us come out with that type of energy and from there on Ean took over. We had some good plays defensively behind Ean, with Julian (Russell) and Evan (Davis) making some nice plays."
The Cowboys kept the Chicago State offense at bay the rest of the way with CSU earning base runners in only the sixth and seventh innings. However the six first inning runs were more than enough for McNeal.
McNeal's record is now 2-1. While Kingsley is 1-2.
Chicago State is 6-7 on the year. McNeese State falls to 9-5. The win avenges a season opening 9-3 loss to McNeese State on Feb. 14. The Cougars have now won five of their last seven games.
"We had a couple nice wins on this trip," Joslyn said. "If we take 2-of-3 all year we'll be in good shape."
The Cougars open Western Athletic Conference play on Friday with Seattle U coming to town. The 3 p.m. CT game will be the first ever contest at Chicago State's on campus Cougar Stadium.
